Legacy

Dar Al-Imara

To the south of the Great Mosque is the ruin of Dar al-Imara which was excavated by the Iraqi Antiquities Authority. The palace is enclosed by a square enclosure 170 meters per side with walls 4 m wide supported by twenty semi-circular buttress towers and four round corner buttresses. In the centre of the palace there is a square (domed?) chamber approached by a vaulted hall which was probably the throne room.

In early Islamic architecture, the Governor’s Palace was usually located at the qibla end of the mosque (i.e. behind the mihrab). This was a safety measure to enable the governor (or caliph) to enter the mosque without having to pass through other worshippers.